Game-board.



B. W. DE LAPPE.

GAME BOARD. APPLICATION FILED APR. 13. I918.

Patented Jan. 28, 1919.

TINT

BIRCH W. DE LAPPE, 0F NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

GAME-BOARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 28, 1919.

Application filed April 13, 1918. Serial No. 228,420.

i all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BIRCH W. DE LAPPE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game-Boards, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to game appliances, and more particularly to that class of games requiring a game board and game-pieces for playing thereon.

My object is to provide a game board of this character with the game-pieces permanently attached to the board, so that when the board gets accidentally knocked or jarred, as is sure to be the case sometimes, the game-pieces will all retain their proper positions upon the board and will not in the least be disarranged thereby, not even if the board should fall upon the floor.

Other objects will appear in the subjoined description.

A leading feature of the invention consists in a game board having portions having contrasting colors, and game-pieces rotatably mounted adjacent to said colored portions and adapted to be rotated in a way to cover up and hide said colored portions, or any one of them, or to uncover the same and expose them to view, as may be desired.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

It is well known that in many games employing a game board and game-pieces, the game board often gets an accidental knock or jar which displaces the game-pieces and causes no little inconvenience to the players; and sometimes the displacement is so great that the players have to start the game over again. This is of course likely to occur with children at any time, but in the case of older persons it will be most apt to occur just at the time when it will occasion the greatest inconvenience and annoyance, namely; when the parties are playing each other close and are absorbed in the game and are for the time oblivious to everything else.

With my improved game board it is impossible for any such accidental displacement of the game-pieces, as above referred to, to ever occur.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates an ordinary checker board provided with my'improvements. Fig. 2 is a broken view showing a portion of Fig. 1 with the game-pieces removed therefrom, and Fig. 3 is a broken section of the board taken through one of the game-pieces.

The numeral 1 indicates the board proper which is provided with the usual vertical lines 2 and the transverse lines 3 at right angles thereto, which vertical and transverse lines divide the board into checks or squares 4. The game-pieces 5 are located on certain of these squares in the same relative position to each other that the game-pieces ordinarily occupy in a game of this character, namely, on every alternate square.

Each game-piece is preferably formed with a main portion 5 with a central projection 5 at the inner side thereof. The length of the main portions 5 of the gamepieces is approximately equal to the length of one side of the squares 4, while the width of said game-pieces is preferably somewhat less than one half the length of said sides.

Each game-piece is provided in its portion 5 with an opening 6 for the reception of a screw 7, which as shown in Fig. 3 has an enlarged portion 7 located between the head of the screw and the threaded portion thereof, which enlarged portion is received by saith opening 6. At the junction of the threaded portion of the screw with the enlarged portion 7 is a shoulder 7 which enables the screw to be firmly anchored in the board without clamping the game-piece sulficiently to the board to prevent the same from rotating thereon.

Each game-piece is thus rotatably mounted on the board at the center of a square, and one side of each of these game-piece squares, preferably the upper side thereof, is provided with two contrasting colors, which if desired may be spaced somewhat from each other as shown. In the drawings I have indicated these colors as red and blue, as will be more easily observed from Fig. 2, the red portions being designated by 4 and the blue by 1 The operation of the device is as follows: One of the players chooses one of the contrasting colors and the other player chooses the other color; each player then rotates his game-pieces into position-to cover up his opponents color and to leave his own color displayed beside each of his gamepieces. In other words, to speak figuratively each player raises his own flag by his own game-pieces. Whenever a game-piece is turned into position to cover up both the red and the blue portions of a square at once, then that square is to be considered blank, just as when a game-piece is removed from a square in ordinary playing. Whenever a player moves from one square to another, he blanks the square which he leaves by turning the game-piece in position to hide both colored portions of that square; and he indicates the square he moves to by turning the game-piece of that square into position to display his color by its side. When a player jumps over one ofhisopponents men and takes him, so to speak, he simply blanks the jumped square by covering up both colors thereon with the game-piece.

From thefforegoing, it will be seen that with my game appliance, the moves are made by each player covering up his color on the square which .he leaves (which blanks the square, as the other color was already covered up) and displaying his color on the square to which he moves, instead of actually moving the gamepieces from one square to another in the ordinary way. In other words, the moves are indicated on the board but are not actually made, and the game-pieces are moved in a sense, but are not moved from one square to another, but the moves made by them are simply to give the indications above referred to.

It will be further seen from the foregoing that since the game-pieces are permanently secured to the board, according to a uniform plan, in a definite orderly relation to each other, the vertical and horizontal lines 2 and 3 respectively may be omitted from the board if desired, as the game-pieces and the screws will indicate the positions of the squares without said lines.

Also, attention is called to the fact that the coloringthe red and the blueon the squares is not absolutely necessary, since the positions occupied by the respective gamepieces indicates absolutely whether the squares on which they are located are blanked or whether they are occupied by one or the other of the players; and if occupied by a player they indicate which player it is in every instance. For instance, game pieces in a horizontal position indicate that the squares on which they are located are blanked, while game-pieces in a vertical position indicate that the squares upon which they are located are occupied by one or the other of the playersthose game pieces having their central projections 5 pointing to the right referring unmistakably to one of the players, and those with said projections pointing to the left referring as unerringly to the other player.

While the drawings only show a board adapted for playing checkers and like games, it is apparent that my improvement is equally well adapted to a great variety of other games.

Having thus described my invention, and shown one method of making a practical application of the principles embodied therein, I yet do not Wish to be limited to the exact showing made but desire protection on all that comes clearly within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Therefore, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is l. A game board having an unbroken surface provided with subdivisions; and game pieces of approximately one half the area of the respective subdivisions, the game pieces being rotatably mounted at the centers of the subdivisions with the center of rotation of each game piece located at one of its sides.

2. A game board having an unbroken surface provided with subdivisions thereon with elongated game-pieces eccentrically and rotatably mounted approximately central of said subdivisions.

3. A game board having subdivisions,

each subdivision having a part thereof pro- I vided with two colors; and game-pieces permanently mounted on said subdivisions and movable into different positions thereon, said parts being arranged when moved in one position to cover both of said colored portions, when moved into another position to cover only one of them, and when moved into still another position to cover only the other one of them.

4. A game board having subdivisions, each subdivision having one party thereof provided with two contrasting colors; and game-pieces permanently and rotatably mounted approximately central of said subdivisions, said game-pieces beingof a size and shape to cover both of said colored portions of their respective subdivisions; said parts being arranged when rotated in one position to cover one of said colored portions, and when rotated into another position to cover the other colored portion, and when rotated into still another position tocover both of said colored portions.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

BIRCH W. DE LAPPE.

Witness:

L. V. JUDsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of .Patents,

Washington, I). G. 

